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1. Check Google Drive’s Status

Though Google prides itself on its uptime, it isn’t unknown for its services to go down. It happened a couple of months ago with Google Drive, leaving users across Europe and South America unable to access their files through the online service.

If you have file upload problems, the first thing you should check is Google Drive’s status. There’s no point trying to resolve the problem if it isn’t on your end!

To do this, simply go to Google’s Status Dashboard. This lists out all of their services and tells you if there are any service disruptions or outages. It can also be worth checking other sites like Down Detector and Outage.Report, where users report issues and it tracks those submissions on a map.

If Google Drive is down, all you can do is sit it out and wait. If it isn’t, keep reading for some troubleshooting tips.

2. Check Your Network

The next thing to do is check that the problem doesn’t lie with your internet connection.

If you’re on Windows 10, press Windows key + I to open Settings and click Network & Internet. This screen will tell you if you’re connected and through what method.

If you suspect there are problems, click Network troubleshooter. This wizard will automatically detect problems and attempt to resolve them.

If you’re on Mac, open the Network Utility using Spotlight or find it within Applications > Utilities. This will tell you the status of your connection and let you figure out if it’s sending and receiving data.

4. Restart Backup and Sync

It’s the age-old troubleshooting tip, but it does often work. Try restarting the Backup and Sync client to see if this resolves the issues. To do this, click the Backup and Sync icon in your system tray. Click the Settings icon (three vertical dots) and click Quit Backup and Sync. Finally, reopen the utility.

If this didn’t work, try restarting your system entirely. Windows 10 users can do that by going to Start > Power > Restart and Mac users can go to Apple menu > Restart.

5. Reconnect Your Account

You can try disconnecting and reconnecting your Google account. Note that this will mean all your files have to resynchronize, so this could take some time.

Now click the Backup and Sync system tray icon again. Click Sign in and follow the wizard through to reconnect your account.

6. Reinstall Backup and Sync

If you’re still not having any luck, try reinstalling Backup and Sync. To do this, head to Google Drive online, click the Settings icon in the top right (cog wheel), and select Download Backup and Sync.

This will ensure you’re getting the most recent version of the program. Open it up, progress through the wizard, and select Yes when asked if you want to replace your current version.

During the installation, you can choose your Google Drive folder and then resynchronize all your files.

An alternative approach is to remove the program from your system first, then redownload it using the steps above. This is better suited for when you know you already have the most recent version.

If your file contains characters like <, >, /, \, ? or * then get rid of them. Depending on your operating system these shouldn’t be allowed anyway, but sometimes a program may erroneously insert them into their file names. In fact, rename the file entirely and only use letters and numbers. See if this pushes the file through.

If that doesn’t work, and it’s possible to do so, save your file in a different format. Google Drive might be getting held up on something in the original format, so this is a good test.

8. Clear the Cache

The Google Drive cache on your phone or desktop is useful because it makes files load faster, but it can also cause a few unexplained problems. Files may not sync or some of them may not open in your browser. Some problems that remain unsolved with the above steps can be resolved by clearing the cache.

Open Chrome.

From your browser toolbar, click the icon with the three dots > More Tools > Clear Browsing Data.

In the Clear browsing data box, click the checkboxes for Cookies and other site data and other site data and Cached images and files.

Use the menu at the top to select the amount of data that you want to delete. Choose the beginning of time to delete everything. (This option does not appear on all devices.)

Joe started writing about technology when he was far too young and hasn't stopped. He spends most of his time obsessing over computer software and hardware, and loves talking about himself in third person. Ask me about Loom.